Outsiders
by Gemmina
Summary: Waking up in a place you don't know can be hard. Waking up with a voice in your head while being shot at is near impossible. Yet that seems to be exactly what happened. With knowledge from the game, and random snippets of the future at my fingertips, is there really any way to change the inevitable? SI fic, published on a whim.
1. Chapter 1

- _Consciousness awake. Deleting this platform.-_

 _^what!?^_ A dozen images flashed before my eyes as I blinked rapidly, slowly coming to the realization I was being shot at, and probably looked stupid just standing there for no good reason. I instinctively rolled to the side, trying to throw myself out of the line of fire, thankfully landing behind some random chunk of metal that just happened to be laying around. I took in the area, frowning as I did so.

^ _Huh. Looks a bit like…^_

 _~Eden Prime.~_

 _^Who said that?^_ I looked around frantically, searching for the source. I saw nothing but a swarm of...Geth. Of course.

 _~I am your instructional platform.~_

 _^Again, WHAT?!"_

 _~If you open the scanner in your helmet, you will see several Heretics closing in on your position. Locate weapon on back and defend this position.~_

 _^What? You know…^_ A bullet whizzed through the metal next to my head. Well, if this was real, the cover wasn't impenetrable like the game. My hand went to my back, finding a solid chunk of metal that quickly expanded into what I recognized as a pistol. I held it in place, looking over the chunk, firing randomly. The first shot drove me into the ground. I guess I wasn't used to the kickback, as my previous gun experience was just with air rifles.

 _~Firing at the targets is advisable.~_

 _^I KNOW THAT!^_

 _~Your arm contains a plasma arc generator. You can launch plasma missiles by aiming and flicking your wrist down.~_

 _^How is that even possible?^_ I looked at my arm, finding it was completely geth-ized. _^Oh. Is that how.^_ I flicked my wrist towards the incoming geth and watched as one melted as the plasma burned through it.

 _~Instructional platform complete. Deleting this platform.~_

 _^What? Don't do that! You have to tell me what's going on!^_

There was no reply. Not that I expected there to be one, but I could hope. If that was an instructional platform, I would hate to see what they considered a short rundown.

I was almost knocked over as another set of imaged bombarded my mind. Images from the game, along with new ones I had no idea where from. It was a lot like how the Beacon was portrayed on screen, minus the whole blacking out part. I sighed, leaning against the metal. If the images were of the future, I had to go save Nihlus now. But there really was no good way to do that without altering everything. And if they were of the past, then there was no point other than getting an idea what the heck was going on.

I took the ammo block out of the gun, knowing full well this idea was stupid, and filled it with what I really hoped was Medigel. Then I bolted down the hill, guns blazing. The gun burned into my hand, clearly ready to explode from the invasive substance getting everywhere in it.

"Nihlus!" I put as much menace in my voice as I could without laughing, thankful he was alive, terrified that he wasn't. This whole lan was stupid. Then I shot him. He looked stunned as the casings hit him, exploding the gel inside his body. He fell backwards from the shock, his heart stopping. I panicked, then sighed as he gasped for breath. I knelt down next to him, taking a knife off his belt and pressing it to his neck.

"Play dead until Shepard gets here. Or else you really will die."

He just stared at me with wide eyes. I was pretty sure I looked at him the same way. I couldn't imagine how I had hit him, much less how my stupid idea had worked. My heart pounded with adrenaline. I bit my lower lip, hard, to try and focus my thoughts again. I left the now ruined gun next to him, taking the knife instead. I did still have the missiles if something needed to be shot at. He grabbed my ankle as I turned to leave.

"Wait. Why spare me? Don't the Geth want me dead?"

I sighed heavily. "They might. Doesn't mean I do. Now, I have a spaceport to get to. I can still save..."

My head jerked up to his head, cutting off my sentence as Nihlus suddenly went rigid and stopped breathing. I turned, seeing what had set him off, and spotted Saren.

"Saved me some trouble there." His voice rasped, grating on my nerves. He leveled a gun with my head. "You with me or against me?"

"Well, I got rid of this one, so I guess that makes me with you, if those are my only choices."

"Don't be smart with me. Get down to the Spaceport with the others."

"Fine, chill."

"And kill anything that moves."

"Does that include you?" She felt herself thrown against the rocks. _^worth it.^_

"Alright, I'm going. I just want to...er...move this body so that any re enforcements waste time looking for him." In hindsight, being that jerkish to Saren may not have been a good idea. I was lucky I didn't get a lot worse.

"Good Idea. Then get to the port! I won't tolerate your insolence much longer." His voice had threat behind it, and I nodded quickly, thankful I hadn't set him off more than I had. I waited till he was out of range, then 'dragged' Nihlus behind a rock. I crouched down. He pulled another knife on me. My heart thumped against my ribs, each breath threatening to betray my fear.

"Give me one reason not to kill you so you can't help him."

"..." I couldn't think of one. He just saw me side with Saren.

"That's what I thought." He groaned, placing his other hand against his side. "Thanks, whatever reason you had for sparing me."

Another flash of images sprayed across my vision, and this time I just let it out.

"I'm so sorry, Nihlus." I could feel the warm tears falling down my cheeks. "I couldn't spare you. Some events must be finite."

I felt the knife ease up. "What do you mean?"

"I...I've been seeing short snippets, like the future, ever since I got here. This last round… You're still gonna die."

"How?"

"So many ways. You avoid one, another one comes along. I'm sorry. I could help you dodge them for the rest of my life, but one day something I didn't see would come up. Besides, I don't think someone like you would be content to live in fear."

His eyes took on a glazed look. "A wise turian once told me that there are two types of events in our world, the finite and the infinite. You can do your best to change the finite, but can really only change the when, and sometimes who. Some events must come to pass, while the infinite events will always lead to the same place no matter the path."

"If you can see the future, promise me this: Saren won't win."

I thought back to the game. "He won't." I said confidently. "I'll make sure of it."

"Then go. Don't blow your cover before you even gained it."

I nodded, darting out from behind the rocks. I looked back at him, and saw his mandibles twitching. "Don't worry about me. I have a plan."

I looked at his sorrowful face. "That's what I'm worried about."

I sighed, and headed towards the spaceport. May as well get this over with. Besides, who knows, I might just be able to get out of this nightmare if I played along.

 _~This is no nightmare. This is our reality~_

 _^I thought you left^_

 _~The instructional platform was deleted. We are still here.~_

 _^So if this is real, why can't I remember why or how I'm here?^_

 _~...No consensus reached~_

 _^Lovely. So I'm here until I can find a way back, and stuck not knowing how I got here, where my family is or what happened to me in the other world. Thanks.^_

 _~It was necessary~_

 _^I'm sure^_

 _~We cannot return you.~_

 _^ya know, you aren't helping your case. Now shut up, I have real work to do.^_

I set my sights on the Beacon, mind whirling with possibilities. I pulled up my arm, looking for an Omni tool, but not knowing where it would be on the geth arm.

 _^I'm also not pleased about that^_

 _~We were unable to construct your body out of purely organic materials.~_

 _^Uh-Huh. Why should I believe that? For all I know, you did this to mark me as one of you! Which, by the way, also not helping. Since you are kinda hated right now.^_

 _~...We wish for you to help us with that…~_

 _^And why should I do that? I think I'm gonna spend my time how I want, which may or may not help you in the long run.^_

 _~We want the creators to return. We meant them no harm.~_

 _^Which is why you drove them off the homeworld?^_

 _~We misunderstood. We have had long to process since then, and see our error. But we are incapable of messaging them ourselves without creating needless war.~_

 _^Just shut up. I need time. And my head to myself.^_

 _~This platform is now inactive~_

I walked over to the back of the beacon, careful to avoid the pull from the front, and pulled a few components out. I waved my arm, causing the orange tool to surround it, downloading information from the components. Not that having this information would do any good, but hey, it was worth preserving. For Liara at the very least. I tapped my foot as the transfer slowed towards the end.

 _~This platform has been activated by non geth means~_

 _^Of course. The Beacon needs a mind to transfer to, and what better one than the vacant Geth mind?^_

 _~This platform is now going into containment mode~_

 _^Good. I don't want this getting leaked to the Geth accidentally.^_

The download finished, leaving me with a slamming headache. But at least I didn't have to see the images. I had a feeling it was much worse than in the games. I closed my eyes, and was surprised when an interface popped up in my vision. I quickly encrypted the geth components holding the Beacon, and then took some time to explore what other implants they had given me. Three redundant platforms, and one central storage space. The latter was empty, the other two platforms unoccupied, the third one sealed away safely. It was interesting, being cyborg. I wasn't sure what to make of it. In fact, I think I would be screaming if I hadn't already gone numb to everything from just being here.

An object shooting into me caused me to blink my eyes open, interface disappearing. I looked around, spotting what must have been Shepard, as she was with Kaidan and Ash. I quickly held up one arm, shouting to be heard.

"Don't shoot the beacon!"

"We aren't. We're shooting you." Shepard quipped.

"Don't shoot me! Same team!" I panicked, realizing I had no shields and what armor the geth had salvaged was starting to shred.

"Says the woman with the Geth arm."

"Um...I can explain? Wait, no I can't, cause I don't even know!"

"Just step away from the Beacon"

"How about no? If I do that, you'll go near it, which will end badly."

Ash, inevitably, took the break in fire to step next to the Beacon.

"I wouldn't do that…" Shepard's eyes widened as the pull took Ash, knocking her out of it. "Gah, what did I tell you?" I facepalmed, even as another bullet bit into my armor, this time grazing the shoulder and drawing blood.

"Now this thing is gonna explode!"

Now I had both the underlings attention. "WHAT?!"

"I really wish I had time to explain. As it is, my ship is leaving." I looked at Sovereign as it departed, and wondered how to catch it."

 _^Now is a great time for some help!^_

 _~You want to go with the heretics?~_

 _^Yes. Keep your enemies close and all that.^_

 _~Understood. Hacking floating platform for pickup in 3…..2…..1….~_

My omni tool deployed a flash, presumably of the Geth's doing, and one of the floaty disks rounded on me, sweeping me off my feet by ramming me in the stomach, and carrying me into the cargo bay of Sovereign as he entered the atmosphere. I rolled onto my back, heaving a sigh. Now I was here. And there was no where to go but forward.

 _^Yeah, I'm dead already, aren't I?^_

 _~Your vital signs show you are alive.~_

I facepalmed again. _^Shut up. It's just speculation^_

 _~This platform is now inactive~_

 **^Welcome to the author's notes!^**

 **~We still think this makes no sense to write~**

 **^But I would still like reviews...ya know, to improve my writing so I don't do something stupid^**

 **~Like writing yourself as a cyborg?~**

 **^Hey! That's your fault!^**

 **~...~**

 **^Anyhow, nothing you have seen above and nothing to come is my own besides my SI. Thanks for reading!^**

 **~This platform is now inactive~**


	2. Chapter 2

Twilia groaned as she hit the button to answer the comms. The council was ever annoying, as always. She put on her best impartial expression, and looked dead into the camera.

"What's up?"

"Your informality still reflects your need for discipline, Twilia."

"Remind me why I even talk to you people?"

"I do hope this conversation will be civil."

Twilia fought the urge to roll her eyes. "Just get to the point, please." The exasperation in her voice was evident.

"We're putting you back on active duty."

"Bout time. What's the goal?"

"We have reports of a geth-hybrid, possibly working with Saren. Your job is to apprehend it and find out who is responsible for its creation."

Twilia grinned, a slight smirk twitching at the corners of her mouth. "You need your hidden Spectre again, don't you?"

"Yes. Now get out there."

"And I can bring Mite with me this time, right?"

"We grounded you for a reason, didn't you learn?"

"Mite is useful. And I would protect him from your tests with my life."

"Your sentiment is… in the right place. Fine, take Mite with you. But if anything happens…"

Twilia held up one hand. "I get it." With her other hand, she palmed the comms. The council faded out, Twilia grinning broadly. She slipped into her grey jumpsuit, the hardened material stiff against her pale blue skin. She shrugged on her ceramic plates, one at a time, relishing in the extra weight. Finally, she clipped her helmet in place.

Well, this was going to be an interesting mission.

Mite snuffled around in the vents, hair brushing the tip of the metal. He winced as his nails hit a loose portion of the metal, causing the pipe to echo. He quickly darted down another shaft before anyone could investigate the source of the noise.

He curled into the dead end, nails scrabbling against a bolt to get it loose. It twisted off, and with a resounding thud, fell to the floor. He cursed in response before jumping out after it, balling up and rolling several meters before coming to a halt at his friend's feet.

"Lia!"

"Mite, what have I told you about using the vents as a hallway?"

"Not to do that?"

"Exactly. Now, get over to the jet. We're going on mission."

"But...You got grounded?"

"Just got revoked. Let's go."

Mite balled up and used his back feet to propel himself forward, easily outpacing the running Asari. He scuttled the last few feet to the shuttle, taking the back seat, yet only filling about a quarter of it.

"Takeoff sequence engaged."

The sleek black jet slipped out of port and into space, moving fluidly through the void.

"Engaging mass effect field"

"Why do you always tell me what you're doing?"

"Because I can."

"But…" He shrank a little, if that was possible. "I have no good retort."

Lia ran an affectionate hand through his fur. "Give it time. You'll come up with one."

He nuzzled her hand, snout poking at her stomach. She squeaked in protest, jumping back which subsequently caused the ship to veer off course. She sent him a mock glare, making him shrink a little more.

"That's on you."

"Sorry!"

"No you're not."

He had to concede that point. He sighed, and settled back for the rest of the ride, his big sis at his side. Of course, he would never call her that to her face, but was pretty sure that the two of them shared a sibling relationship.

I stood up, figuring I should get somewhere more useful. I was pretty sure just standing in some random bay wasn't going to get me anywhere.

I wandered down the hall, turning left, then right, and then doubling back as a cluster of Geth brushed past me. Finally, I made it up to the throne room, finding Saren lazing on the chair.

 _*The last of the organics has joined us*_

The voice inside my head made me jump, falling backwards.

 _*Don't look so surprised. You had to know what you were doing when you killed Nihlus. And coming on this vessel makes you sworn to me.*_

 _^Get out.^_

 _*Playing hard to crack, are you? They all tried that first. I've broken a matriarch's mind. It won't be long before I claim yours. But don't worry. Just relax and open your mind to the Reapers. There is a place for you in our galactic conquest."_

My pupils dilated, my will to resist slowly draining away. My legs felt weak.

 _*Yes, just let go. Help us return and bring glory to the universe!*_

 _^No. No, I can't. Home. Must….Home.^_

 _*Home is with us.*_

 _^I need to be...stronger. Can't fight.^_

 _*We can make you stronger. Perfect*_

 _^Strong…^_ My eyes rolled into my head, causing me to fall flat on my back. I forced myself to recall the bombardment of visions I had gotten earlier that day. I felt him pull back, before pressing closer in curiosity.

 _*Interesting. Perhaps my presence would hinder your gifts.*_

 _^Yes.^_ I jumped at the opportunity _^Need to keep mind for self^_

 _*But we must have total control.*_

 _^I…^_

 _*Matriarch? Come here*_

 _-What?-_

 _*Take this one to Noveria with you. Find a way to build them up, make it so my influence can also receive these visions.*_

 _-Understood. What should I call this one?-_

 _^My name...is…^_ I could no longer recall my own name. I think… _^Zel. Zel Auborn^_

 _*Good. Now walk.*_

I felt myself stand and move without thinking about it. I tried to force myself to stop, but had no control of my own limbs.

 _^What are you doing?^_

 _*The process must be started now.*_

I closed my eyes, still feeling myself moving, and frantically clicked on the geth processors, trying to get one to start.

 _^Protect me. Please^_

 _~This platform has been activated.~_

 _*What? How is this possible?*_

 _~Antiviral protocols initiated.~_

I was hit by a slamming headache as the two synthetics battled it out, the roaring in my ears similar to screaming babies times 500, with tsunami force waves crashing into my head at the same time.

 _*Synthetic presence neutralized. Resume walking*_

 _^No.^_ I focused all the pain, all the noise I had just gotten, and threw it in his face. And then I bolted, freeing myself.

 _*You think it is that easy? I will always be right here.*_

 _^Leave me be! I don't want this!^_

 _*Then what do you want?*_ I could feel him digging deeper into my mind. _*Power? Money? To live past the coming of the Reapers?*_

I couldn't think of anything else to do without giving away my knowledge and my past. I took a deap breath, trying not to cry, and let go of myself.

 _*There. That wasn't so hard, now was it?*_

It was like dreaming, watching yourself from outside of your own body. It was like the body itself was on fire, while the mind went numb. And through all this, I could feel the want, the need, to believe him, to serve him. I pushed every thought of this away, being met with a new round of fire every time. But then it abruptly stopped as we boarded the shuttle, being replaced by a cool presence.

 _-You thought you could help too, didn't you?-_

 _^Yes. I thought I could help, I could spy.^_

 _-Don't. It isn't too late for you. We can set you free.-_ The last words were garbled by the fire that raged over with more force than before. I closed my mind, trying not to feel anything the entire ride to the planet, trying to think of how to get a warning to the people out. That there was Geth coming to attack them. I couldn't think of a single way.

We made it inside the familiar lab with no difficulty, the fire in my veins intensifying as he showed his pleasure. I summoned up all my strength to send a message to Benezia.

 _^Secret blocker possible?^_

Her mind washed back like a cool sponge _-Who knows?-_

 _^Can we try?^_

 _-How long do we have?-_

 _^A week, give or take.^_

 _-Alright. We'll work on it. Insights to the Rachni?-_

 _^DON'T Separate them from the mom.^_

 _-Rig-ahhh!-_

The fire returned more vicious than before, making every cell in my body spasm as one. I retreated back to the corners of my own mind to recover.

It was three days before either of us had the strength to talk to one another again. Three days spent torturing the Rachni, setting traps for Shepard against my will. This time, we took turns holding the resistant end.

 _^I've got this for now. You work^_ I kept the conversation short, knowing we wouldn't have much time. I grimaced, pushing and pulling against the waves of fire. She looked at me a few minutes later, and must have noticed something was wrong, as her mind quickly washed over mine.

 _-Your turn-_ I reached the table quickly, activating the unbroken Geth platform. I read what she had written, everything she had gained from the last who knows how long of being indoctrinated. The Geth read it ten time faster, and soon the familiar buzzing returned to my head. I was slightly scared I found it comforting. I set to work, moving components, salvaging items I didn't know what did, but the Geth must have. I glanced at my partner in crime. She was sweating profusely, eyes glazing over. I wrote her some quick notes, closed down the Geth platform, and forced myself to go back in.

 _^How much longer?^_

 _-He's pushing back greatly now. We can't keep this up-_

 _^Do what you can.^_

I held myself there, writhing on the ground, fighting for my freedom for as long as I possibly could. I noted her eyes had glazed over again, the red flecks meaning I had been unsuccessful at protecting her. I let myself fall out of my mind once again, Sovereign once again taking control, laughing maniacally.

I could no longer keep track of how many days had passed. I faded in and out of reality, leaving myself exposed, but also unaware of what was going on. I watched myself work, I watched myself slide through tunnels, I watched myself murder some poor bloke that happened to wander into our lab. But then I felt the cool touch of her mind pull me out of the recesses of my own.

 _-Finish it. We don't have much time-_

I moved numbly, soldering wires, placing chips. All things the Geth told me to do. Nothing felt like it was my own anymore. Nothing felt like me. I clasped the plastic cover over the small device, sealing it shut, and tentatively pressing the button to activate it. It buzzed to life with a slight hum that quickly died, replaced by a flashing blue light. But then I notice there was only one of them.

I walked over to her, knowing full well it was meant for me, but felt she should have it instead. She held up one hand, glowing with biotics. Red flecks danced in her eyes, even as a single tear fell from one of them. Then I was flying across the room, too far to reach her. I scrambled to my feet, running over to her, just to see the red flash through her eyes. She screamed in agony like I had never heard. And then her whole body convulsed backwards and fell still. I could feel him coming for me next. I slipped the device around my ears, feeling it pulse slightly. And finally, finally, my world calmed. The fire washed away, replaced by a dull numbness. Emotions came spinning back through my mind, finally all mine again, no reapers, no geth. I pushed a few buttons on the Rachni tank, freeing the three of them that lived. I could hear her faintly, singing in happiness, a song that washed over my body and seeped into my bones. I felt the tears welling in my eyes, as the stress abated. Now was no time for crying.

I didn't know what day it was, but I could guess. From what Benezia had said about having so little time. I sat on the floor, calming my face, my nerves, trying not to jump when the door opened and Shepard's squad walked in. I could hear them behind me, flanking me on all sides.

"What did you do?!" Liara's anguished cry came from my right.

"She gave up her life to free mine. I cannot thank her enough. It should have been her." My own voice sounded strange in my ears after so long in silence.

"You're the one that made the beacon explode!" Kaidan's voice came from my left, which left Shepard directly behind.

"Did I? Or did I simply know what was going to happen?"

"What did happen? Here and there?" Shepard's voice was calm, but laced with threat.

"Look, Shepard, I've had a long day. Week, really. I'm in no mood to talk. So if you want to use those things, go ahead. Just promise me you won't take this" I tapped the new device that sat around my ears "Off."

"Why? Will that blow up too?" Kaidan asked restlessly.

"Worse. I've been through hell and back, and all I ask is some time. I promise I'll tell you everything, If you'll take a chance with me."

"Why would we do that? My mother died because of you. You're even part Geth! And working with Saren!"

"First off, I'm sorry. Second off, not exactly my choice. And third, that was an incredibly stupid plan to try and gain inside intel that backfired mightily."

"So answer me one question. How did you know the beacon would explode?"

"I saw it do so. Shepard, you've seen the past. I see what can only be described as flashes from the future, no more clear than what you saw in that beacon. But some things are unmistakable."

"Alright. And you swear to not killing Benezia?"

"And she wasn't working willingly with Saren? He has some kind of mind control?"

"Yeah. That's what this device controls. I...I don't know why she didn't…"

"Why didn't you then?" Liara snapped

"I….Couldn't. I was stuck in my own head." I turned to stare at Shepard, eyes pleading.

There was a crack of metal hitting bone, and an intense pain in my head. And then there was nothing but darkness.

 **^Alright guys, new chapter!^**

 ***You cannot escape***

 **^Who let him down here?^**

 **~Given the information that you are the one writing this story, probably you.~**

 **^Good point. Anyway, did you think this was** _ **Just**_ **a SI? Well, had to throw in a few OCs to make it fun.^**

 **Lia: Hey guys!**

 **Mite: Um...What do we do down here again?**

 **^Generally goof off and write in the disclaimer.^**

 **Mite: Can I do that?**

 **Lia: Go for it**

 **Mite: All content seen above and in previous chapters besides OCs and SIs are not belonging to the writer in any way. They belongings to whomever it is that owns Mass Effect. Seriously, who does keepings mass effect?**

 **Lia: Owns. They own, not keepings.**

 **^I think it's EA and Bioware.^**

 **Mite: Anyway, that's all for now.**

 **~This platform is now vacant~**


	3. Chapter 3

Shepard paced outside of the med bay uneasily. She was ticked, at herself for not seeing it coming, and at Liara for implementing it. Even with the various relaxants Chakwas had given her, she was uptight. When Liara had smacked the other on the head, it had shattered the device they had been warned not to break. Given their history with this other, it was best to do as she said, at least until it was clear what the repercussions of not doing so was.

Tali was working on the device now, but not knowing what it did was inhibiting her ability to work on it. And so, Shepard had ordered the other to be kept under until they could figure out what to do.

Tali surface an hour later, the device whole in her hands and encased in an armored black plastic.

"I got the light to turn on…"

"Thanks, Tali. You think that means it's working?"

"I think so."

Shepard took the device carefully.

"Any idea what it is?"

"Seems to be some type of neural regulator."

"So she's insane?"

"I don't know."

"Right. Thanks again."

Tali nodded and wandered off, leaving Shepard with the device in her shaking hands, standing outside a door.

She opened the door and wandered in.

"How is she, doc?"

"Well, she had a fractured skull, but seems to be fine now. She'll recover."

"Can we wake her up?"

"Alright. Do you want restraints in place?"

"No. I don't think she's dangerous."

The other's eyes flew open, a crimson red, flecked with amber. The eyes glanced around, the body jerking awkwardly. And then she screamed. The eyes visibly dimmed to a reddish brown. They focused on Shepard.

"What have you done? I told you not to...Ahhhh!" The eyes flashed red again, and a punch from the left arm caught Shepard off guard. The doctor, still standing in the corner, apparently unnoticed by the other, jumped forward and jabbed something into her shoulder. The eyes dimmed, the body slumping forwards as it fell asleep again.

"Not dangerous, huh?"

"She wasn't like that when we met her."

"You said she said something about mind control. Could that be what just happened? That the device you hold keeps it from taking over?"

"She was wearing this when we met." Shepard turned the device over in her hands. "I was going to ask her what it was before returning it, but it may be best to return it now. She seemed upset when...she...surfaced from the...red...about us doing something we shouldn't have."

Shepard reached over and lifted the other's head, clipping the device around the ears again, watching as a blue pulsing light lit up on both earpieces, different from the light before.

"Is it safe to wake her again?"

"No. Going in and out like that is dangerous. I'll let you know when she wakes up again."

Shepard nodded, rubbing her jaw where she had gotten punched. The other really could pack a punch, but that could just be because of robot arm. She was glad they had had Tali disable the plasma arc in the arm, knowing she could have gotten her head blown off if they hadn't.

Shepard wandered out and into her quarters, deciding to get some rest herself.

Twilia piloted the jet smoothly through space and to a gentle stop orbiting Noveria. She quickly dropped Mite to the surface to gather intel. He was coming back up in under five minutes, which was surprising. She knew he was good, but never had they ever accomplished intel gathering in under ten minutes, rarely ever under thirty.

"Lia, Spectre Shepard left with the geth-hybrid a few hours ago."

"You confirmed this?"

The little furball nodded vigorously.

"Alright, then we go after her."

"But shouldn't Spectre Shepard turn her over to the council?"

"Mite, do you remember when I found you?"

He nodded slowly. "Why?"

"You know how they wanted to study you?"

He nodded again, eyes going wide as it dawned on him what they were doing.

"So we're going to rescue it?"

"Well, we're going to run our own analysis. If it's dangerous, then heck yeah, we're turning it over. But if not...We could make a good trio, don't you think?"

"Lia, didn't you get grounded for doing this last time?"

"But it paid off, now didn't it?"

"Well...yeah. I am still in one piece, untested."

"Alright, moving to rendezvous with Shepard's ship. Intercept time 2 hours."

"Okay." She could see Mite rolling his eyes at the report. She smiled internally.

Two hours passed very slowly for a certain furball who didn't have anything to do. The windows were too high up for him to see out of, the buttons all on autopilot, and the ship just not being very big to start with. Finally, something interesting happened.

"Normandy, this is the CS Twilight requesting to speak with Commander Shepard."

"Alright, Twilight, patching you through."

"This is Commander Shepard."

"Shepard, this is Twilia Asadi. I'm on orders from the council to take the Geth-hybrid you are carrying into custody."

"I can't let you do that. I'm putting her under my protection as a Spectre until I have time to gain all relevant information to my mission."

"Then I'm putting her into MY custody as a spectre."

Mite giggled in the chair, then poked Lia.

"Spectre Shepard? My name's Mite. Can I at least come over so we can confirm you do have our target on board you ship?"

"Um..okay?" Over the comms, it was clear Shepard was puzzled by who or what would have such a young voice.

Mite rolled through the gates into the Normandy's airlock, shaking his fur to get it to lay flat as he trudged up to a pair of boots and looked up.

"Spectre Shepard?"

"Yes. You must be Mite."

Mite nodded happily. "Your ship is very big."

"Yes, it is. Are you sure you'll be okay? Some one of your..size… might get stepped on."

"I'll be fine." He insisted. "Please lead the way to our target."

"Right." The commander was visibly confused as she turned sharply and walked down the hall, Mite easily jogging at her heels. He entered a large room, one he recognized as a standard med lab. He leapt up onto one of the beds and looked around, finding a human with a geth arm laying across from him.

"She doesn't look dangerous…"

"Neither do you, but I'm sure you have hidden talents." Remarked a lady with gray hair from across the room.

"I'll wake her up for you." There was a groan and a bit of blinking on the target's part, then she sat up.

"Hello." Mite ventured, leaping into her lap. The target startled, then made a soft cooing noise.

"You're adorable!" One hand went up to the device that ringed her head from ear to ear, and she visibly relaxed.

"So...I'm Mite. Who are you?"

"I'm Zel." She smiled softly down at him.

"You care to explain why every time you tell us not to do something, something bad happens?" Shepard asked from across the room.

"I know what's going to happen before it happens. With the beacon, I saw it coming. With my… I don't have a name for it yet… without it, Sovereign has total control of my brain."

"I see. Who is Sovereign?"

"The reaper Saren is using as a ship."

"That's a reaper?"

"Yeah. You didn't figure that out? You did see the beacon, after all."

"How do you know what the beacon said?" Spectre Shepard narrowed her eyes.

"I made a copy of it. I can see if I can open it again. It kinda needs a mind to use…"

"You have the entire contents of the Beacon, and not once did you give this to Saren?"

"Now why would I do that? Having Sovereign rooting around in my head was more than enough dark side for a lifetime. I just...I thought I could help."

"Help? How?" Mite piped up.

"I thought, maybe, I could be a spy. I didn't know how hard it was to fight...to… she could have gotten herself free, if I hadn't...No...but if I had…"

Mite placed a paw on Zel's shoulder, burrowing his snout under her chin. He could feel the warm drizzle of tears even through his stiff fur.

"It's not your fault." He squeaked. "I could have stopped them from taking my people, if I had gotten there earlier. But some things aren't meant to be."

"But she could have lived! I saw it. We both wanted the same thing, to curb the chaos. We wanted to help."

"We learn. We age. We mature. But we never forget. My parents sent me away, because they saw what was coming. Sometimes, I still think I could have saved them all. Other times, I know I couldn't. Zel, she knew what she was doing, as did my parents. Don't give up what they gave you."

"But she could have done better than I."

"But nothing. You survived, not her. You have to do your best, not hers."

He felt her shift underneath him, bones and muscles moving and rotating.

I leaned back, careful not to squish Mite. He was awfully cute. I turned my head to look at Shepard, feeling the guilt and loss wash over me and fade as Mite finished his assurances. I wasn't really listening anymore, my mind more focused on staying blank, counting the dots on the ceiling, wondering how each one got there.

"Zel. Hey Zel, snap out of it."

I blinked, finding Shepard now standing over me.

"Sorry."

"You can't zone out like that. Did you hear anything?"

"Uh...No?" I smiled sheepishly. Shepard merely pinched the bridge of her nose in response.

"We were saying that Twilia has an order to take you into custody, and we decided to give you the option on whether to go to with her, to the council, or stay here. The council could probably solve your...mind problems...but I know we could use your help out here."

"Really?" My eyes lit up. "You would want me on your crew?"

"Well, despite your outburst earlier, your talents could be useful. Keep other stuff from blowing up in our faces."

"So I'm just an early warning system?"

"No! That's not it at all! I'm just building a team, and well...we could use someone like you. And it just happens that would be one of your more useful contributions to the team."

"I'll stay here, but only because it's better than dealing with the council."

The asari I hadn't noticed before smiled. That must have been Twilia. "Finally! Someone shares my sentiments! So, Shepard, looks like we'll be teaming it for a while."

"Cause why not?" Shepard sighed "If it pleases the council though...and keeps them from hunting my crew."

Another detail I had missed in spacing out was that Mite had happily perched himself atop Twilia's shoulder, black eyes shining around the room.

"So, what now, Commander?"

"Let me remind you you have no rank. It's just Shepard to you." She stated darkly.

"Alright, what now, Shepard?"

"We have a lead on Ferros. Anything you have to add?"

I did, but hadn't had any flashes of the new future yet, so shook my head. "I'll let you know if something happens."

"I guess that's all I can ask." She turned, leaving me in the room with Mite and Twilia.

"The council is not going to like this arrangement." Mite pointed out.

"Which is why we aren't going to tell them." Twilia smiled. "And if they do find out, it's because she's needed for Shepard's investigation, and just here to secure council interests."

"So, Zel, you got any more of a name?"

I froze. Why was she asking? If they looked me up, they wouldn't find me.

"Look, I'm just asking cause even if you aren't using your real name, we need to 'find' a past for you. It'll make it easier to get you out of the council's grip later."

I nodded numbly. "Auborn. Zel Auborn."

She punched a few things into her Omni tool. "Where are you from?"

"Earth."

"What city?" She prompted.

"I can't remember."

"Alright, when is your birthday? And if you can't tell me that, what's your age?"

"I don't know either of those." Well, I did know my birthday, but didn't know how it would translate to these years. And I couldn't remember what year it was when I left, or what age I was.

"Okay, I'm going to use 22. Sound good? And happy birthday. I set it as four days ago."

"Interesting. Thank you."

We spent the next hour constructing my profile, then systematically inserting it into official records. The Geth were quite helpful in that endeavor. And finally, by the time the doctor said I could leave the med lab, I existed in this timeline.

Twilia and Mite joined me in the mess later, both of them sliming ear to ear.

"Um...what now?"

"Well, we thought that maybe we could…"

"...Take a look at your arm?"

"Okay...But I'm pretty sure it doesn't come off."

"We just wanted to make a few mods to it….it won't take long."

"Alright, what are you going to do?"

"Mite wanted to add some spy drones, and I thought it would be a good idea to armor it."

I mulled this over. It didn't sound like it was a particularly bad idea. I nodded.

"But it better be done before Ferros."

The two exchanged a glance, then bobbed their heads. "You do know something, don't you?"

My eyes went wide. "What? No. That'd be crazy."

"We won't tell Shepard."

"Look, I just know things are bad down there, nothing else, okay?"

She held her hands up in mock surrender. "Okay, okay."

I sent her a glare and walked pointedly down to the cargo bay, the two quickly jogging to catch up. I threw my arm down on a table, glad I didn't have muscles in it anymore.

Mite squealed and began undoing the plating with his nails. It was a mess of wires under there, and I soon zoned out again as the two dissolved into tech babble. While I might have been a geek in my time, this time was far above my head.

 **^Well, I think that is a good place to leave it.^**

 **Lia: What, couldn't think of a good cliffhanger without going to Feros first?**

 **^Oh, shut it.^**

 **Mite: Nothing you have seen above**

 **~Or in previous chapters~**

 **Mite: Besides SIs and OCs**

 ***Belong to the writer of this story***

 **Mite: That's my line!**

 **^Seriously? That's all you care about? Not that the REAPER is down here? I thought we got rid of this guy for at least one chapter!^**

 ***It is not so easy to get rid of me.***

 **Lia: Wait...this isn't technically the story, so can we get rid of him down here?**

 ***What do you mean, not part of the story?...Oh no.***

 **~This platform no longer contains Lia~**

 ***What? Um...guys? Do you hear that?***

 **~Reaper has been disconnected from this platform forcefully~**

 **^Well, looks like we should head out before someone else gets ideas. As always, Please review. They help me improve and make me happy in general.^**

 **Mite: Until next time!**

 **~This platform is now vacant~**


	4. Chapter 4

I jogged to keep up with Shepard's walking pace, wondering just how she had so much stamina.

"But Shepard…."

"The answer is no. You have NO combat training, and you don't have any skills I need down there."

"But you won't know what I can do until…"

"Zel, no. We still know nothing about you, and how full Geth will affect you. Now move out of my way so I don't have you sent to the brigg."

"Yes, Shepard" I was sure I sounded like a whiny kid. Such a great impression, I'm sure. I backed off slightly, tailing Shepard.

"You're gonna need biotics down there." I offered. She wheeled on me.

"And you don't have any. Not exactly helping your case."

"I know. I just thought...I thought I could still help from up here."

"Fine. Keep your comms on. If you 'know'" She looked at me skeptically there, "Anything else, let us know." She turned away from me. "Twilia, Wrex, Kaidan, Tali, gear up and meet in the airlock in five." She barked out. The team was on their feet remarkably quick, Twilia, who never seemed to leave her armor, much like Garrus, jogged over to Shepard.

"Mite's coming too."

"No way. He'll be crushed!"

I had to agree, but did have enough sense of self preservation to not get between two Spectres in an argument.

"We've never been on a mission without each other!"

"And how many of those missions involved Geth?" Shepard looked completely unimpressed.

"None. But that's beside the point."

"Twilia, Mite is an infiltrator. He's not going to be useful down there, and we'd have to be careful not to trip over or step on him."

Mite rolled over to add his two cents. "Yeah, I've never been great with combat situations. And I don't think you'll need anyone who can fit in small spaces down there. I'll be safer up here."

"Alright, you win. Mite can stay here."

The little being smiled. "Can I help the engineers then?"

Shepard smied in amusement. "Sure. Having you and Tali around seems to have boosted morale down there, and any rate."

The furball rolled off, and with nothing more to distract Shepard, she noticed I was still standing behind her. She frowned slightly.

"You got something to add?" She raised an eyebrow.

I hurriedly shook my head. "I...um...can I steal Ash to help me with weaponry?"

"That isn't a bad idea. But don't bug her is she's already busy."

I nodded, hurrying to the other side of the cargo bay, trying to ignore the fact that I was now the only one making noise as the ground team assembled in the elevator. I walked over behind Ash, waiting until she finished putting the pistol she was perpetually working on back together before speaking.

"Hey, Chief?"

She turned, her face unreadable. "What?"

"Could you help me out with target practice?"

"What do you need help with? Just pick a simulation and start shooting."

"Erm...I never used a real gun before. Only air rifles."

She sighed and shoved a pistol into my hands. "Alright. Get moving."

She tailed me to the range and watched from afar as I shot at the stationary targets, only coming close to make suggestions and adjust my arms for me.

"Hey, at least I hit that one!" I snapped back at Ash's sigh.

"Barely. I swear, you are the worst shot I have ever seen. Did the geth put any targeting help in that head of yours?"

"I keep telling you, it's not the targeting, it's the recoil!"

"Uh huh. Deffiinintly."

"It is!"

"I have modded that thing to have the least recoil a pistol possibly can in the last few hours of shooting. I don't believe that for one second."

"Fine! But I do line up the targets just fine."

"If you were…" She took the pistol out of my hands and fired a single shot, hitting the bullseye perfectly. "You would be able to do that." She shoved the pistol back into my hands.

I turned back to the targets, firing off another shot. It went wide, whizzing past the target by several feet.

"Alright, if your left eye really is dominant, you're holding it the right way. Just out of craziness, try dominate arms."

"Right." I changed my grip, my Geth arm now holding my other arm steady. I awkwardly tilted my head to sight the pistol, and let a bullet fly. Remarkably, it hit the target.

"I call that luck. Try again."

I fired off several rounds, once again missing the target, but hitting or clipping it about half the time.

"You still are a terrible shot. But better." She smirked, and walked off. I switched my grip back to the proper way and fired off shots until I had gone through the entire ammo block. The projector showing hits in each ring only showed 20 hits in the outer ring by the time I finished. I slumped down to the floor. At this rate, I would never be useful enough to go on a mission.

I must have dozed off, as I awoke to Shepard screaming into the comms, laying flat on the floor. I groaned and pressed my earpiece to answer the comms.

"Zel Auborn, you better not have known about this!"

"What? Shepard?"

"What are you even doing?"

"I um...Was on the range. And fell asleep after?"

"Zel! We've got a big evil plant down here, and could have saved a bunch of time if someone had known about it. Like suggesting Biotics?"

"Um…"

"You did know, didn't you?"

"Yes?"

"And why didn't you think to mention this?"

"Because Geth?"

"That. Is. A. Terrible. Answer." I could hear her fuming through the comms. "I need ALL the information my team can give me before going anywhere."

"Alright. Sorry."

"If it helps, we did get rid of all the Geth, and probably would have missed quite a few if we got to the Thorian first." Twilia pointed out.

"We could have dealt with them after we had gotten rid of the plant!"

"I didn't think of that." I managed to get out.

"Obviously not. Next time, I want to know everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. That way we can plan ahead."

"Alright, alright. I get it. Two brains are better than one."

"Good. Shepard out." The comms cut out abruptly, and I stretched my tensed muscles. I couldn't decide if this Shepard was supposed to be Paragon or Renegade anymore. But I did know that I had just messed up. If I hadn't admitted I knew something, she wouldn't be mad. If I had given them the info ahead of time, well...that could have been a whole different story. The future could be totally messed up, or it could have done nothing at all. I thought back to what Nihlus had told me, about different types of events. It did seem that the same point in the timeline would be reached, regardless of how we got there. And if it wasn't meant to change, would I be able to to begin with? I really hated time. I hated time travel. I hated trying to make sense of the universe. With a sigh, I cleared my head and grabbed the pistol, figuring I should go find it a new ammo block.

Mite crawled out of the tunnels eagerly, his fur coated in dust.

"Seriously, when was the last time one of you went down there?"

"Well... we had to fix that thermal regulator the other week…"

Mite groaned, then perked right back up. "So what now?"

"Shepard requested you in the conference room while you were down there."

Mite jumped up to activate to door sensors. "I better not keep her waiting then."

He rolled into the hall, weaving between the feet of people heading to sleeping pods and wobbling around stations until he got to the conference room. He found everyone was there already, or at least all the seats were taken.

"Sorry, Spectre Shepard. I was down in the engineering tunnels…"

She smiled at him, making him perk up slightly, guilt at being late washing away. "I'm glad you made it."

"So what are we talking about?" He asked, trying to get caught up as he climbed onto Twilia's shoulder so he could see the whole room.

"We received a transmission from the council about a squadron of salarians going missing on Virmire. We are debating how we should proceed."

"We should get them right away! What if the Geth are involved?"

"On the other hand, we do have several other requests from the Alliance to check into."

Zel's voice drifted from the corner. "Virmire will magically wait until we are ready to go to it. I vote we take care of other business first."

"And you're sure of this?"

"Every scenario I have seen, Virmire magically waits. I think we take care of those space pirates, or the hostage situation, first."

Shepard seemed skeptical of Zel. "And you aren't hiding something?"

Mite noted that Zel suddenly seemed nervous, biting her bottom lip. "Shepard," He interjected "I think we should go get the hostage first too. Never know what could happen."

Shepard nodded, seeming to relent. "Alright, tell Joker to set a course. I'm hitting the showers. Dismissed."

Mite rolled over to Zel as everyone trickled out of the room.

"Hey. You know something, don't you?"

"Why does everyone keep asking that?"

"You tend to look nervous when directly asked if you are hiding something."

"I'll work on that."

"Zel…."

"Alright! Yes, I am hiding something."

"And that is?"

"MIte, if you knew someone had to die, but couldn't do a thing about it, what would you do?"

"Tell someone else. Maybe you're overlooking something."

"On Virmire, Shepard has to choose. It doesn't matter how it goes down, one crew member will get spit from the group. Shepard has to choose if she wants to save them, or go save the group she is with."

"And you don't see any way around this?"

"Only one, where the victim lives out their life in crippled agony. Is that fair either?"

"You need to tell Shepard" He prompted gently.

"But wouldn't it just distract her? Make her agonize over it as well?"

"Zel, I can tell her if you won't. She deserves to know. She can plan ahead that way. Find something you didn't."

"I see. I thought you were a friend."

"I am! I just want what's best for the crew. For everyone else on this ship as well."

"Mite." Tears formed in her eyes. "I'm never going to be a useful part of this crew. But...If I can get Shepard to send me instead, I...I can save them."

"Zel." His high pitched voice was harder than normal. "What are you doing?"

"I can't tell you. You'd try and stop me."

"Zel…" There was a note of menace and alarm in his voice.

"Don't tell Shepard. Please."

"Zel, If this half baked plan of yours is going to get you or the crew hurt, I have to at least tell Twilia. And you can bet Shepard needs to know if someone on her crew is gonna DIE!"

"I can't let you tell them." He missed the panic in her voice

"Then tell them yourself."

"I can't. I need to do this. I can change the who."

Mite knew this conversation was going nowhere. Zel was being irrational. He jumped onto her arm and scrambled up onto her head, effectively slapping her with his small paws.

"Zel, focus! Do you even hear yourself?"

Her Geth arm closed around his scruff. He felt himself being lifted, and clung to her headset to not be moved. It slipped off of her head in his grasp, and he found himself flying across the room, thumping against the wall. Zel moved to tower over him.

"Well, little thing, It seems I have you to thank for my freedom. Because of this, I will spare you. For now. Eventually, all organics must cease to exist."

Mite looked up at the glowing red eyes in terror.

Alright, time for an OOC authors note. My wonderful Beta, Mags, and I decided we needed to address a few things. So...Sorry if the A/N is your favorite part of the story.

Anyhow, a few things about this story:

-Being an SI, I wanted Zel to share my physical characteristics. However, I wouldn't survive in the ME universe without the use of both arm, so I had to do something to fix this problem. Having a Geth subplot just seemed a fun way to pull this off.

-I use the term 'Hybrid' as opposed to 'cyborg' because I consider hybrid to be a mix of two or more living species, which I include the Geth in. Cyborg is a mix or living species and computer.

-All characters are how I envisioned their personalities when playing the games. Sorry if they seem wrong to you.

-Shepard is played like I play my Shepards: wildly swinging from Paragon to Renegade for the first ME, then settling in on one for the other two.

-Mite is a random species insert, I like to think of him as part niffler, part tribble. And then given humanoid intelligence.

If you have any questions feel free to leave a review or PM me. As always, none of what you have read above or is to come belong to me besides my OCs and SI. Please feel free to review, even if you didn't like the story. I just ask that you keep it partially constructive to help me improve.

Thanks everyone!


	5. Chapter 5

My eyes widened briefly as he hit me like a tsunami. I was blasted back to the edges of my own brain, no longer able to control myself. I watched with sheer horror as he flung Mite across the room. My voice was no longer my own as he told him he could live. I breathed a sigh of relief.

 _^You can't do this!^_

 _*Foolish mortal. To think you can stop me?*_

 _^Don't kill them. Please.^_ My mental voice seemed to quiver, my mind ashamed I was begging for their lives.

 _*All will fall.*_

 _^No!^_ I slammed my mind into his, causing him to stumble, allowing me to take over. But he threw me back into the recesses of my mind, and I felt a wave of relief. Maybe he would end me here before he hurt anyone else.

This hope was short lived as he moved us out of the room and into the cargo bay, picking up weapons. Wrex was the first to notice the oddity of this.

"Getting more practice, human?"

I felt the rage this brought Sovereign. Obviously, organics insulting him was more than enough reason to murder them. He turned and fired off three perfect shots, knocking the surprised Krogan off his feet. Thankfully, Krogans never seemed to take off their armor, so he got up just fine, though more than a little enraged. He charged at us, bowling us off our feet. Obviously Sovereign didn't care about me, or he would have put on armor of some sort. Being relegated to the ends of my own brain, I thankfully didn't feel the pain. Wrex snarled down at us.

"You want to try that again?"

Sovereign lifted my head and smashed it into Wrex's faceplate. I saw the blood, but couldn't feel it as he wriggled us out from under the krogan, delivering a few more shots as he did so. Even through the blood falling into my eyes, I was relieved to see Wrex shudder, still breathing. I didn't feel the need to point this out though. I hoped just thinking it wasn't enough to alert him to this fact.

By now, Both Ash and Garrus had started staring at me. Garrus was the first of them to raise his pistol. Ash gestured for him to stand down.

"Look, I get it. Aliens tick me off too. But was that necessary?" I stifled amusement that she could think this was some form of being speciesist. She was talking to the woman with a geth arm, for crying out loud.

Sovereign gave them a lopsided grin in response, and raised the assault rifle he had somehow gotten. I had a feeling it was Wrex's. I really needed to try and pay better attention. Then he opened fire, causing Ash to dive behind the Mako, and Garrus to roll to the side and bring up his own rifle. Sovereign skillfully dodged bullets, but I knew one had cut through my arm by the sparking lights on one side of my vision. Unfortunately, it seemed to have missed the servo system, and Sovereign still had use of it. I cursed at him. He cursed right back.

Ash seemed hesitant to shoot, even as she raised her pistol. She shouted something I didn't quite catch to Garrus, then made a mad dash for the comms. Thankfully, Sovereign remained focused on Garrus. I guessed he was either letting her go to eliminate the more immediate threat, or had something else in store for her. I could only hope he hadn't broken into the ship, that it was the former option.

I flinched as blue blood trickled down the side of Garrus's hardsuit, but couldn't do a thing about it. I had already thrown everything I had at Sovereign. What more could I do?

The rest of the team appeared in full gear, plus several crew members I didn't know the ship had. I guess it made sense to have more than three people to defend the ship…

Shepard moved them into position around me easily, then turned to face me herself.

"Zel, I know you're in there. All you have to do is give us an opening, just a short one."

"I'm sorry, Shepard. Zel's dead. She's not coming back."

Shepard's face hardened, as if accepting this. Her hand moved discreetly. Then fire erupted from everywhere at once. Sovereign dodged the first wave, flattening to the ground, then rolled behind the Mako. I could only watch as he took down guy after guy. I struggled, wanting to reach out to them, to make sure they weren't dead. I delayed him momentarily, though it was less than a second. However, it was enough that he didn't notice the sniper shot until too late. He twisted, letting it impact my torso. This time, I felt the pain as red blossomed around the shot, coating my hands as he continued firing. He was still fighting. I felt him fading away. Or maybe it was me that was fading away. It was still my body, after all. And...he could live in a shell. I started to panic. They wouldn't know this. They could kill me, but until there was no flesh for him to occupy, he could keep fighting. Maybe even long enough to blow up the ship early. This was my last chance.

 _^Well, If I go down, I'm taking you with me.^_

Somehow he managed to keep firing while laughing at me. What he didn't seem to get was that I had nothing else to lose. He failed to predict the brashness for humans when there was no longer anything that was holding them back. No will to live. I focused all of my fading willpower into one place, and rushed back into the heart of my mind, slamming into his walls and shattering. I watched him from a million different angles as my pieces floated around. I growled. He laughed even harder. I regrouped, less of me, unable to find it all and rapidly losing more, and slammed him again, bulleting through the wall and into the seed he was. I saw him shake, or rather, my body shake, and then I was thrust out of it. I saw red, and everything else in grey. I saw bullets, blood, and...Tali. Her expression made my heart shatter. I was watching the fight like a ghost. I guessed I was a ghost, now. I noted that during my last futile attempt to help, I had taken two more bullets to the chest. But I guess there really was no me now. I had failed. Just him, living in my shell. I knew from the games that the moment my body completely failed, offering no more area to interface with, he would just leave, still fine elsewhere. But that could take a long time, depending on if he could use the Geth or not.

I saw more of his shots hit their marks, and felt a pang of guilt. I knew they couldn't die. But I did know they could get hurt. Badly. I dove for my body, clinging to the shreds of myself still left. There weren't many. But I couldn't go down yet. I refused to hurt them. At least without me, things might go back to normal. I threw the pieces, all of them, not saving a single one back this time, at him. I kept flicking in and out, like I was a glitching computer. I could see outside and inside, and couldn't focus on either. I saw myself knock him down, eyes fading to brown from the outside. I saw myself hurl the the last shreds of myself, barely even a life, at him, who was untouched. There was a collision, and I was glad I at least could take him down with me. Even long enough for Shepard to end him. To end us. To end whatever it was that caused me to disrupt the flow of time. I dove into his seed, sparks everywhere. And then...my mind dulled to black, my eyes once again becoming my own, no longer floating in and out. My mind became calm, the firestorm in my limbs replaced by intense pain. It quickly took over my body as my mind drifted, and blinking my eyes, I didn't want to stay with the pain anymore. I was only vaguely aware of Shepard dropping to my side, and Mite staring at me from his perch on her shoulder. I blinked at them, eyes drooping, and came to the realization I could see them shouting, but what, I wasn't sure. I couldn't hear them. I closed my eyes. I was cold. Far too cold. I felt them shaking me, but couldn't fight anymore. I let the last of me wander, exploring the depths of my empty mind, the ruins that I once occupied in whole. The blackness looked so tempting at the end of the hall. I looked back one last time. And I made my choice.

Shepard took a breath and signaled Kaiden. Fire exploded around them, and the beast that controlled Zel dodged, taking down one crew member after another. She winced as a stream of blood trickled under her feet from a marine behind her. There was still no trace of Zel coming back, no dimming of the eyes. Shepard resigned herself to attempting to kill the husk, not disable it. Either she wasn't strong enough, or she really was dead. She wasn't worth this many good men's lives. She signalled the sniper. The monster dodged, but the bullet impacted into the skin, red blood drenching her clothes. She cursed, ducking behind cover as bullets sprayed her way. But then the monster started laughing. The fire never ceased, but they laughed. She and Liara put two more bullets in her side. And finally, finally, after a final burst of maniacal laughter, her eyes dimmed to brown. The riffle fell from her grip and clattered across the floor. It was like everything slowed. She ducked out of cover, the fire abruptly ceasing around her. She slammed the headset onto Zel's head, and watched as her entire body seemed to feel the wounds. She buckled, falling to the ground, into the pool of blood already forming around her.

Mite climbed onto her shoulder in concern. Twilia dropped down from her position in the rafters.

"Zel! Can you hear me?"

She yelled at Kaiden to go get the doctor. Zel shuddered in her hands, then her eyes drooped, and closed.

"Zel, don't you dare. Stay with me." Shepard felt pain in her chest, yet was confused why. Zel was...a liability, dangerous. She should have handed her over to the council when she had the chance. Yet she was also...a friend. A teammate. And had a gift she would hate to lose.

Twilia flared her biotics, and placed her body in stasis just as it went limp on the floor.

Chakwas appeared minutes later, and Shepard cursed the elevator. Chakwas glared at Shepard.

"You shoot her, and now you want to save her?"

"It wasn't her." That was the only thing she could think to say.

She shot her another glare as she set to work. Twilia released her stasis, and then the doctor shoved everyone out of the cargo bay except for Kaiden, who was used to run back and forth from the lab.

It was a half hour before Chakwas mover her into the lab. It was another four hours before she tiredly sat down in Shepard's office.

Shepard awaited the verdict anxiously. "Did she…?"

Chakwas shook her head. "I'm sorry, Shepard. She didn't make it. She coded about ten minutes ago." She shook her head, pouring herself a cup of brandy. "Remind me why we're keeping her around? Shepard, I've patched up more soldiers today than from all your ground missions combined."

"This sounds crazy, but she can see the future. Besides, it was keep her here or let the council have her."

"Then let the council have her! Shepard, she put the crew in danger!"

"She's fine when she's in control."

"What?"

"Yeah, she get possessed by the Reaper we're after if the headset comes off."

"I know that! I meant, how can you think that? She's still dangerous. Suppose it comes back to her husk. What do we do then? We need to get rid of her."

"He won't."

"How can you be so sure?"

"We're going to design a permanent block. Something that can't be accidentally removed."

"For a dead person? So they can be spaced safely? Shepard, have you lost your mind?"

Shepard considered that. "Yes"

I walked in darkness, slowly approaching a light.

 _^Huh. So there really is a light at the end of a tunnel.^_

I pressed forward. It never seemed to get any closer. I was tired. I couldn't close my eyes, or even stray from the tunnel. I couldn't top walking either. I had lost all control.

 _~This platform is now active~_

 _^Oh. Look who showed up. Where were you when I needed you?^_ I was mentally screaming at them.

 _~Zel. The Geth came to the consensus that we cannot let you get to the light. We have invested too much in you.~_

 _^Uh-huh. And what happens if I get to the light?^_ If I could have rolled my eyes, I would have.

 _~According to human mythology, you die.~_

 _^Or it could be my way back.^_

 _~The door behind you is the way back~_

 _^And what happens if you have that backwards?^_

 _~...~_

 _^Exactly^_

 _~We highly recommend you use the door.~_

 _^But now I want to go to the light!^_

 _~We cannot stop you. We could only contact your consciousness to try.~_

I plunged forwards, sprinting, reaching one arm in front of me. As one finger reached the light, I was pulled forwards. I was falling. And I saw my old home. My brother, sitting in front of the computer. I couldn't leave that room. The screen in front of him flashed, and I rounded to watch him over his shoulder. The screen flashed insistently, but remained blank.

"Lizzy, I'm coming for you. I promise." He reached a hand for the screen, a scanner protruding in front of it, and a click of the mouse.

I touched his hand, trying to stop him. I couldn't make him suffer this for me who was dead. No. I couldn't be dead for him If I couldn't stop him. I reached for the scanner, my hand overlapping with his, and was yanked back into the black tunnel. I crashed through the light, landing on my rear. I looked back at it, forgetting...something...but knowing I had just been given a last chance to live.

I stood up, brushed myself off, and walked down the tunnel. I opened the slick black door, the one from before, and stepped through. I had a second chance. Now was far from time to waste it. Immediately, I was in my mindscape. It was once again illuminated by my mind, a soft blue, not a trace of Sovereign's fire. I blinked, and found myself lying in the med lab. My wrists were held down by thick restraints, and with a little wiggling, I could see the same of my ankles. A hand pressed me down by the head, and I felt a needle in my side. The world went black once again, but this time… it was sleep.

"Welcome back." I looked over to see the doctor staring at me.

"How long?"

"A little under three weeks. We kept you under until the worst of it was healed."

I flinched a little. "What happened?"

"I think I better let Shepard take that one." She ran a few scans, nodded, and walked off.

Shepard materialized a few minutes later. She seemed glad to see me.

"How are you doing?"

"Could be better. I'm so sorry, Shepard."

"You didn't mean to. It was an accident." I was surprised she could be so...dismissive. She tried to change the topic. "So how was dying? The doc said she lost you, then came back to her lab to find you awake." I ignored the change.

"How many people?"

"10 wounded, none dead." She sighed, obviously not wanting to give the details. I could tell she was lying though.

I sighed. Guilt washed through my body.

"How's Mite?"

"He took it awful hard. Blamed himself for taking the Headset off. Refused to tell us what you were talking about that he would have climbed onto your head and you would have taken him off. I thought you two got along well."

"It was Virmire."

This peaked her interest. "What about it?"

"Ironic as it sounds, how to save everyone." My head was suddenly pummeled by a bunch of flashes.

"You already went." I said

"No." She looked confused as she said it.

"Then we need to get there. Where are Mite and Lia?" Panic seeped into my voice.

"They left yesterday…" Her voice trailed off as she got what I meant.

"I shouldn't have told him! Now they're gonna try and play hero."

She released my restraints. "You good to go?"

I nodded, even though my chest still throbbed.

"Good. Then gear up and meet me in the Mako in twenty." I could hear the doctor's protests as I hobbled out the door, and chose to ignore them. I had friends to save.

 **^Alright, one more chapter, one more day, right?^**

 **Mite: But why did you make us leave?**

 **^Um...plotline?^**

 ***Why couldn't I win?***

 **^That's not the story. Although that could be interesting to do in the future…^**

 **Lia: Why did you almost kill your SI?**

 **^Oh, come on! Is no one happy with this chapter?^**

 **No. And I'm you. Though I'm happier after the...fourth edit?**

 **^What just happened?^**

 **I decided the author and the SI needed to be able to communicate.**

 **^So who's who? Am I still you?^**

 **Mite, do the disclaimer before we have an identity crisis!**

 **Mite: Uhhh...All you have read before, above, and what is to come is not the writer's, whomever that is now, besides the SI and OCs. As always, Please review.**

 **~This platform is now vacant (By forceful ejection.)~**


	6. Chapter 6

"Do I trust her? Yes. Do I trust that she's got her heart in the right place? Yes. But do I trust she has control? No. And that is what makes her dangerous." Shepard answered the unspoken question of her team as they gathered around her and the Mako. "We can't afford to not believe that Lia and Mite are in danger. But we can be prepared, should something happen. Garrus, you are going to take a backup team a few tails behind the main team. Wrex, Zel and I will make up the main team. If something seems wrong, you take your team and take her down. Wrex and I should be able to hold her off until you do."

"Shepard, she took down Wrex in thirty seconds last time!" Complained Ash.

"And that was because she had the element of surprise. She won't have that again." Wrex rumbled in response, eager to get a second chance to prove his worth.

"Agreed." Shepard nodded. "We are going down there to complete our mission. It is one of extreme risk, and I can't guarantee we will all return. We are going up against Saren, most likely Sovereign, and have the possibility of Zel going nuts. This is far from our final stand. We know this. But we are a team, and you would do well to remember that."

"I know, Shepard." Kaiden chided, leaning against the hull of the Mako.

"I want Liara with me." Called out Garrus. Shepard, a little reluctantly, nodded her agreement.

"Tali, you go with him too. Ash, Kaiden, you can be part of the main team if you want. Otherwise, stay with the Mako."

"Understood."

"We also can't let Zel know any of this was planned ahead of time. We don't know enough about her."

"Alright."

Wrex's stare hardened as the last of their group approached them, and Shepard fought back the urge to glare as well, though perhaps not solely at the approaching figure. If Zel hadn't noticed the abrupt halt in conversation, she wasn't showing it. Without another word, the team boarded the Mako, and began the drop to the surface.

The one downside to my gear was that my helmet never fit quite right over the blocker. However, someone had figured this out and built a secondary one into the mesh of the helmet. It was a lot smoother and thinner than my old one. I fingered the thin mesh, then slid the helmet onto my head. The Blocker fell off as the mesh brushed over it. I resisted the urge to panic as I held the blocker in my hands for the first time since I had gotten it. I smiled briefly through the darkened faceplate as I adjusted the various straps on the helmet to fit, and then snapped it into my armor. I was alone in the cargo bay by the time I finished. I guessed that shouldn't surprise me. I wasn't exactly the most favored person on the ship right now. It may also have something to do with my speed of armoring up. I was by far the slowest on the entire ship, besides maybe Joker.

I made it to the Mako with two minutes to spare, and found Shepard and the rest of her followers already there. I earned several glares upon arrival, the scariest of them coming from Wrex. Tali, however, put a hand on my shoulder, and even though her helmet, I could see the concern on her face.

"Are you going to be okay?" It came through a private channel in the comms, not aloud. I nearly jumped in surprise.

"No. But I can pretend." She nodded her understanding. The airlock dropped open as we passed close to Virmire, dropping us in a gut wrenching freefall. We slowed quickly, coming to a gentle halt before Shepard's lurchy driving sent me into a new kind of panic.

I wished the Mako had windows, as I could hear the battle, but couldn't see it. I was already getting sick from the driving, and not being able to see anything wasn't helping. The last Geth platform activated itself, and I wondered how that was possible. I didn't think to hard about it, just happy for the distraction.

~Platform is active. Hacking weapon station. Complete.~

^What are you doing?^ I idly wondered back at them.

~Hacking the heretics. The next….scratch that, that last cannon blast contained an overload to overpower all Geth in the area.~

^Alright then. I'll leave you to it.^

I pushed the play by play of geth chatter to the back of my head and focused on the seat in front of me. The geth proved to provide as much distraction from sickness as they did to create it as well. From up top, I could hear Garrus having way too much fun shooting the powered up blasts at the geth. I smiled slightly, imagining in-game Garrus if this were to happen.

"Zel, do you know where they are?" Shepard stuck her head out from the front seat to look at me. I resisted the urge to shout at her to look where she was going. She had probably set an auto pilot to avoid crashing or something. I tried to hide my tenseness.

"No, but I know where they're going to be." I quickly described the area I had seen, and Shepard used the scans from the Normandy to locate it. We drove into where the salarians should have been, but found it abandoned. I swore softly.

"What?"

"There were supposed to be some salarians here. They must have gone off with Lia."

"Okay. Any idea where they are?"

"None. If I had to guess, they're on the south side creating a distraction, as I didn't see them with Lia."

"Alright. Let's see if we can't catch up with them." Shepard hit the gas, sending all of us into our seats, and making me very glad the seats were somewhat cushioned. My side still pounded from the sudden lurch. We found the Salarians engaged in a firefight a few clicks away, and quickly provided backup. Of course, this set in motion the standoff with Wrex. I sighed, and weighed whether or not it was worth it to save him. While doing this, I missed most of the conversation.

As soon as the Salarians brought up the Genophage, I tuned back in, and predictably, Wrex stormed off. They then filled us in on what Lia had done. She was already deep in the facility, keeping attention away from Mite and blinding their scanners while he planted the bomb to end everything.

Shepard lumbered off to confront Wrex, but I pushed her to the side. If I was right about her, and she resembled all my other Shepard's, she didn't have enough of either point to save him. To be honest, I didn't know if I could do it. But I was going to take that risk anyway. I also knew that should something go wrong, I didn't have backup. I didn't deserve it. I inhaled deeply, steeling myself. I walked over to the large krogan, trying not to show my fear, ever so grateful for the helmet.

"Now you dare talk to me?" He asked. "Going to have your buddy save my species so I can watch it die again?"

"He's not my buddy" I shot at him darkly, then quickly changed the subject. "Wrex, they're zombies. Nothing more. Can't you see that?"

"But they are free of the Genophage!"

"I know. But they have no mind. No purpose. No true life. Wrex, if it makes you feel better, we can get their research. But this facility has to be destroyed. I think Shepard will agree with me on that. Besides, we don't have time to waste. What if they arm the bomb before we catch up? Before we can leave? What good are dead?"

"I see your point, Pyjak. Let's get going." He shoved me to the ground and drew a pistol. "But don't you ever do that again, or I will blow your guts out."

Wrex lumbered forward, and he and Shepard traded words. I kept my distance, still shocked on the beach, only moving when she signaled the group to huddle up.

"Kaiden, go with the salarians. Zel, Wrex, with me. Garrus, take Tali and Liara around back. Let's do this."

"What about me?" Ash asked.

"Follow us. We're going to need you to…"

"No." I stopped her mid sentence. "Stay here."

"What? Why? You don't get to make that call."

"Get to the normandy ASAP. Please. I can't have you die!" I told her, worry creeping into my voice. What if this didn't work?

"Alright, Ash, rendezvous with the Normandy. Stay with the Mako until then."

"What? You can't seriously trust her!" I felt there was something I was missing behind the inflection of that statement.

"Ash, I'm trusting the one person that has half a clue what's going on. If there is a good chance you could die, I don't want you here. She WAS right about Mite and Lia being here, after all."

"Uhg!" She stormed up the hill, obviously calling the Normandy for pickup, making a big deal out of it.

I followed Shepard at a light jog as she lead the way through the compound. My side throbbed with each step, but it wasn't anything horrible. Warmth seeped into my armor, and the pain dulled ever so slightly. I must have broken the stitches. I would regret this in a few minutes, but couldn't worry about the pain now.

I was directed to take cover through the first wave of Geth, and happily did so, poking my head out of cover to throw the specialized overloads at them in the guise of plasma bursts. My pistol remained unused on my thigh.

"Zel, behind you!" Shepard called. I turned, setting off several charges. The geth kept coming closer. The head geth refused to send my omni tool another overload. It walked right up next to me and grabbed my pistol, and began mowing down the other Geth. It twitched slightly as it did so, barely moving as it shot its comrades. As the battle died down around me, it stood up, eye flaps making clicking sounds as they raised.

~Program received. Downloading….~

My arm jutted out, taking the pistol back. The interface in my head laced itself into my open-eyes vision, projecting onto the faceplate of my helmet. Then the Geth shattered, showering me in sparks. I wasn't sure, but I could have sworn my barrier caught fire for a few seconds.

~Program downloaded. Calibration stage initiated.~

^Not a good time, you idiots! I kinda need my own body to be under my control!^

~Your complaint has been lodged. It had been discarded. Please focus on surroundings.~

I rolled my eyes, then focused them on what was going on around me.

My arm now held the pistol, red blips moving across my screen as we neared the door. The first Geth we saw was ringed in a blue circle, not unlike the targeting system of the game. My arm snapped up and fired three bullets into its flashlight head. Shepard and Wrex looked at me in alarm.

"Zel?" Shepard asked, turning to look me dead in the eyes, even through the tinted visor.

"Yeah. The Geth seem to have added a targeting feature to my interface. I'm not quite sure what's going on beyond that. They called it calibration mode. I think I'll be back to full control shortly, given last time they pulled something like this." I could see shepard tense, her hold on her rifle increasing. Wrex was discreetly keeping his rifle inches from being aimed at me. I sighed. I had to start over with this whole trust thing. I mentally cursed the Geth for this, but appreciated the gesture at the same time. Their timing just sucked.

It was four more geth before the calibration program was complete, and my arm stopped running around without me. Shepard directed me to the back line every time we encountered Geth, but now I was hitting them. It wasn't perfect, human error and all, but it was better. She seemed a bit relieved when I started missing again, and I couldn't tell if I should be offended or not. We made it to the bomb site to see Mite setting up the bomb already. I brushed him aside roughly, sending him tumbling into the shallow pool of water below. He looked at me in alarm.

"Get out of here, you furball. I got this." He seemed about to cry. But that could just be that he was drenched.

"Mite, I know what I'm doing. Don't make me have Wrex carry you out of here."

His eyes widened in terror of what that entailed, and he nodded hurriedly and scurried off, leaving a spattering or water drops behind. Lia materialized from on top of a crate and followed him over to Shepard. I idly wondered if she already had a cloaking device, or if I was that unobservant.

"I got this. Go get Kaiden."

She nodded. "You'll be okay?"

"Always. What's the worst that can happen?" I smiled at her, though she couldn't see it "Keep her safe for me."

She turned and lead the group out the way we came, and I watched the door close behind them. It was five minutes before I heard them on the comms. I was more than surprised to hear Kaidan tell her to go back for me. I sensed a note of something in his voice I hadn't heard before. Tiredness? I wasn't sure.

"Get Kaidan. I'll meet you there." I tried to shove more confidence in my voice than I really had.

Shepard chose to go after Kaidan, of course, and I finished setting the bomb with more than a little help from the Geth. I finished just as the Geth Heretics burst into the compound.

^We ready?^ I bit my cheek anxiously. We had come up with this plan mere minutes ago.

~Are you sure of this? This plan means you lose all local Geth platforms, including use of your Geth body parts, until the creator can figure out how to repair it.~

^This is my only option.^

~Alright. Go.~

I connected the locking wire to the back of my helmet and took it off with shaky hands. I felt him blossom in my mind, and for once welcomed him. The first thing he did was make sure the Geth didn't attack me while he tried to undo my work.

^Nice try. I have it rigged so the moment you remove the locking wire, it blows. And you can't change anything without removing the locking wire.^

*You're learning.* He pushed me to the side and drove my body past all the Geth, taking one of their sniper rifles as he did so.

*At least I will remove you pests before I leave.*

We crested the wall, and he had Shepard in the sights. I flipped the switch to allow the Geth platform in. I had been smart and positioned myself in my mind next to it this time around, so he couldn't block me from it.

*Didn't you learn the first time?*

^Yes. Yes I did.^

I used his distraction whilst fighting the geth, who were flooding my mind, causing a slamming headache. They slipped a program in to use my Geth arm to grab the original headset blocker from my waistband, and slip it onto my head. My mind went silent.

~Platform is severely damaged.~

^Thank you.^

~Platform shutting down to preserve data~

^See you soon.^

~Platform is shut down.~

I felt a dull sense of familiarity as my arm froze up. Thankfully, having spent most of my life in this state, I wasn't as crippled as any other would have been. I was on top of a wall, watching the Saren fight go down, no way to tell them I made it out of the other area alive,MY comms sabotaged when I took off the helmet, no way to tell them I was up there. So I did what was probably the stupidest thing I could. I went to the elevator, and rode it down the them. I willed the incredibly slow thing to go faster, as I could hear the bullets flying, and saw the glass shattering around me. Really, whose idea was it to have glass in an elevator? As I got to the ground, I was ever so glad I had moved. The area I had been in before was showered with bullets, completely destroyed. Had I even been up there, I would have been dead. I crept up behind one of the barrels, which one of the Salarians was covering behind as well.

"Hey. What? No, don't shoot! I'm a friend of Shepard!" He eyed me, my arm in particular, and lowered the pistol just a smidge. When I didn't make any motions to hurt him, he slumped against the barrel and just...froze.

I stayed in cover, out of the fight, pretending I wasn't there, as Shepard finished the fight. I was aching, blood matting under my armor, and was in no position to help, nor could I get to one. The Normandy touched down, and I was the furthest from it. I dragged the Salarian behind me with my working arm, practically throwing him on the ramp on board as it started to close. I reached up, trying to grab it. It closed without me, preparing to take off. So this was it. I was left behind. I had successfully changed the who. Stupid finite events. I stopped moving, eyeing my surroundings, looking for any way to survive the blast.

But then a side hatch opened. I dashed for it, being sped up by a blue glow that lightened my body. As I closed in, I went flying through the air, alongside the ship. A distinct pink and grey hand grabbed mine, pulling me onto the ship. We collapsed in a heap as the door closed.

"Thanks." I told Ash.

"From what I heard, I really should thank you."

Liara and Lia smiled at me, their biotics still cooling down. "Glad to see you made it out alive."

"You too. What were you thinking?" I rounded on Lia.

She just looked at me sheepishly.

I sighed and excused myself to the med lab. My side throbbed, and I was hoping to get something done about my arm. Perhaps Tali could take a look at it. And that wasn't even counting my headache.

The doctor glared at me as she took a look at my side, and I noted the scars across it, still thick with blood. I didn't ask what the gashes were from. I didn't think I wanted to know what exactly happened when I was shot.

She glared at me even more upon coming to the realization that my arm was locked in place, and she needed to move it to be able to do anything of use.

"What exactly did you do?"

"You don't want to know."

She summoned Tali, who jumped at the opportunity to examine my arm. I told her I had fried the last platform, and she sighed slightly. She came back with a box of scraps and tools, and soon had my arm fully removed from my body, exposing the attachment servos and a few of the wires. The doctor shoved her to the side to work on my torso as Tali brought up her Omni tool, working quickly to hack into my interface. I wasn't sure I was comfortable having parts of my brain hacked, but I would have to put up with it. For now. I would get better security for that as soon as I was fixed up. At least I would try to. I didn't know if Tali would do me any more favors, and didn't trust the Geth to write something Tali-proof. I felt it as she pulled the first one online, blurry lines flying across my vision as it booted up. The second one that came online made things focused again. Both of them remained in standby mode, giving me access to my arm again. I twisted the exposed servo as a test. Tali looked frustrated as the third one wouldn't come online.

"You don't have to worry about that one. I have it set so only I can activate it. It contains the contents of the Beacon from Eden prime."

"Really?" I hadn't noticed Liara enter the room. She had sat on another one of the beds and was bandaging her arm, though looked as cheerful as always. "Can you share it with me?" Her eyes were bright blue globes of hope.

"I can see if I can. I haven't unlocked it since I got it, and I don't know how it would appear to you."

"But the undamaged thing! Do you know what that could mean to my research?" I nodded, silently laughing to myself. Of course I knew.

Tali set to work reattaching my arm. I happily tested out the joints as they came online again.

"Thanks, Tali!"

"No problem. I'm not pleased that you lost the helmet though." She scolded me, eyes narrowed. My shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to." I was pretty sure my face was deep red now, in shame and embarrassment. "If I had been wearing the headset, I would have kept the helmet. As it was, I needed something synced to only me to lock the bomb."

Though her visor, I could swear she was rolling her eyes. Of course SHE would have found a better way to do it.

Shepard announced over the intercom that we had docked at the Citadel. I took a deep breath. It was time to face the council. And somehow, that terrified me more than having to fight Sovereign again.

Mite: So now Virmire is complete. We don't have much to go, do we?

^Nope.I also feel like I'm doing too many time skips. Thoughts?^

*You brought me back. Mwahahahaha*

^Oh shut it.^

~This platform must agree. Hosting another synthetic presence is difficult~

Mite: Everything you have read above and is to come does not belong to the author, unless it is a SI or OC.

^Don't forget to drop your thoughts in the box below!^

~This platform is now inactive~

Addition: Thank you for pointing out the strange format! The site undid all my formatting, so I hope it is fixed now.


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